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1. Magnetic Field Perturbations to a Soft X-ray-Activated Fe (II) Molecular Spin State Transition

   https://doi.org/10.3390/magnetochemistry7100135  

   Hao, Guanhua; N’Diaye, Alpha T.; Ekanayaka, Thilini K.; Dale, Ashley S.; Jiang, Xuanyuan; Mishra, Esha; Mellinger, Corbyn; Yazdani, Saeed; Freeland, John W.; Zhang, Jian; et al (October 2021, Magnetochemistry)

   The X-ray-induced spin crossover transition of an Fe (II) molecular thin film in the presence and absence of a magnetic field has been investigated. The thermal activation energy barrier in the soft X-ray activation of the spin crossover transition for [Fe{H2B(pz)2}2(bipy)] molecular thin films is reduced in the presence of an applied magnetic field, as measured through X-ray absorption spectroscopy at various temperatures. The influence of a 1.8 T magnetic field is sufficient to cause deviations from the expected exponential spin state transition behavior which is measured in the field free case. We find that orbital moment diminishes with increasing temperature, relative to the spin moment in the vicinity of room temperature. 

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2. Successive Phase Transitions and Multiferroicity in Deformed Triangular-Lattice Antiferromagnets Ca ₃ MNb ₂ O ₉ (M=Co, Ni) with Spatial Anisotropy

   https://doi.org/10.1149/2162-8777/ac7254  

   Huang, Q.; Lee, M.; Choi, E. S.; Ma, J.; Dela Cruz, C.; Zhou, H. D. (June 2022, ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology)

   We constructed the magnetic field-temperature phase diagrams of new quasi-two-dimensional isosceles triangular lattice antiferromagnets (TLAF) Ca 3 MNb 2 O 9 (M=Co, Ni) from dc and ac magnetic susceptibilities, specific heat, dielectric constant, and electric polarization measurements on single crystalline samples. Ca 3 CoNb 2 O 9 with effective spin-1/2 Co 2+ ions undergoes a two-step antiferromagnetic phase transition at T N1 = 1.3 K and T N2 = 1.5 K and enters a stripe ordered state at zero magnetic field. With increasing field, successive magnetic phase transitions, reminiscent of the up-up-down ( uud ) and the oblique phases, are observed. The dielectric constant of Ca 3 CoNb 2 O 9 shows anomalies related to the magnetic phase transitions, but clear evidence of ferroelectricity is absent. Meanwhile, Ca 3 NiNb 2 O 9 with spin-1 Ni 2+ ions also shows a two-step antiferromagnetic transition at T N1 = 3.8 K and T N2 = 4.2 K at zero field. For Ca 3 NiNb 2 O 9 , the electric polarization in the magnetic ordered phases was clearly observed from the pyroelectric current measurements, which indicates its coexistence of magnetic ordering and ferroelectricity. 

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3. Noncollinear polar magnet Fe2(SeO3)3(H2O)3 with inequivalent Fe3+ sites

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0241243  

   Oyeka, Ebube_E; Huai, Xudong; Marshall, Madalynn; Winiarski, Michał_J; Błachowski, Artur; Cao, Huibo; Tran, Thao_T (December 2024, APL Materials)

   The emergence of novel magnetic states becomes more likely when the inversion symmetry of the crystal field, relative to the center between two spins, is broken. We propose that placing magnetic spins in inequivalent sites in a polar lattice can promote a realization of nontrivial magnetic states and associated magnetic properties. To test our hypothesis, we study Fe2(SeO3)(H2O)3 as a model system that displays two distinct Fe(1) and Fe(2) magnetic sites in a polar structure (R3c space group). At low fields μ0H≤ 0.06 T, the material undergoes an antiferromagnetic ordering with TN1 = 77 K and a second transition at TN2≈ 4 K. At μ0H≥ 0.06 T and 74 K ≤T≤ 76 K, a positive entropy change of ∼0.12 mJ mol−1 K−1 can be associated with a metamagnetic transition to possibly nontrivial spin states. At zero field, Fe(1) is nearly fully ordered at T≈ 25 K, while Fe(2) features magnetic frustration down to T = 4 K. The magnetic ground state, a result corroborated by single-crystal neutron diffraction and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, is a noncollinear antiparallel arrangement of ferrimagnetic Fe(1)–Fe(2) dimers along the c-axis. The results demonstrate that placing distinct magnetic sites in a polar crystal lattice can enable a new pathway to modifying spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom for unconventional magnetism. 

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4. Clock transitions generated by defects in silica glass

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0239469  

   Sheehan, Brendan_C; Chen, Guanchu; Friedman, Jonathan_R (December 2024, Applied Physics Letters)

   Clock transitions (CTs) in spin systems, which occur at avoided level crossings, enhance quantum coherence lifetimes T2 because the transition becomes immune to the decohering effects of magnetic field fluctuations to first order. We present the first electron-spin resonance characterization of CTs in certain defect-rich silica glasses, noting coherence times up to 16 μs at the CTs. We find CT behavior at zero magnetic field in borosilicate and aluminosilicate glasses, but not in a variety of silica glasses lacking boron or aluminum. Annealing reduces or eliminates the zero-field signal. Since boron and aluminum have the same valence and are acceptors when substituted for silicon, we suggest the observed CT behavior could be generated by a spin-1 boron vacancy center within the borosilicate glass, and similarly, an aluminum vacancy center in the aluminosilicate glass. 

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5. ³¹ P spin–lattice and singlet order relaxation mechanisms in pyrophosphate studied by isotopic substitution, field shuttling NMR, and molecular dynamics simulation

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D2CP03801C  

   Korenchan, David E.; Lu, Jiaqi; Sabba, Mohamed; Dagys, Laurynas; Brown, Lynda J.; Levitt, Malcolm H.; Jerschow, Alexej (October 2022, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   Nuclear spin relaxation mechanisms are often difficult to isolate and identify, especially in molecules with internal flexibility. Here we combine experimental work with computation in order to determine the major mechanisms responsible for 31 P spin–lattice and singlet order (SO) relaxation in pyrophosphate, a physiologically relevant molecule. Using field-shuttling relaxation measurements (from 2 μT to 9.4 T) and rates calculated from molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories, we identified chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) and spin–rotation as the major mechanisms, with minor contributions from intra- and intermolecular coupling. The significant spin–rotation interaction is a consequence of the relatively rapid rotation of the –PO 3 2− entities around the bridging P–O bonds, and is treated by a combination of MD simulations and quantum chemistry calculations. Spin–lattice relaxation was predicted well without adjustable parameters, and for SO relaxation one parameter was extracted from the comparison between experiment and computation (a correlation coefficient between the rotational motion of the groups). 

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